Seattle soccer team won’t be “Sounders,” but could be …

To the disappointment of some of our readers, Major League Soccer’s commissioner has ruled out “Sounders” as the name of Seattle’s new expansion soccer team.

But that could still leave “Seattle Alliance,” “Seattle Republic” and “Seattle FC” as strong contenders, if MLS trademarks found on the United States Patents and Trademarks Office site are any indication. Read our earlier post for more on this.

MLS has said fans will be able to vote online between three name choices they will formally announce next Tuesday, March 25. Assuming the trademarked names are those three options, which would you choose? Don’t forget to take our online poll.

So far, our readers aren’t big fans of any of the three names, calling them “disappointing,” “uninspired” and “a big-time bummer.”

“Republic, and Alliance … someone has been watching too much Sci Fi/Star Wars,” one reader said. “The Seattle Alliance sounds like my healthcare plan,” another wrote. And a third commented: “FC? This isn’t football and it isn’t England.”

But among the three, readers in our poll are leaning toward Seattle FC. With 138 votes in, 50 percent of respondents say they prefer that name over the other two, with 35 percent saying they like Seattle Alliance and only 15 percent saying they’d root for Seattle Republic.